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HOW TO MAXIMIZE WEIGHT LOSS IN SUMMER

They’re called the lazy days of summer — and, boy, do our weight loss goals agree.

In fact, while you may think of summer as a time for calorie-burning outdoor fun, research suggests otherwise. When temperatures soar, experts say levels of physical activity tend to plummet. Pair that with the beers at backyard barbecues and the mid-afternoon ice cream cones, and body weight inevitably creeps up.

But summer doesn’t have to be a desert barren of weight loss foods. There are a number of easy tweaks you can make to your diet that can improve your health and keep the summer pounds at bay — while you enjoy some of your warm weather favorites. Yes, even beer. Use these tricks, and you and your family can enjoy every lazy, hazy, dog day of the season — and still lose weight

1. DROWN OUT THE KILOSWater is like fat-burning fuel: It’s what your metabolism requires to function optimally, especially in the summer heat when we tend to lose water faster than normal. In fact, numerous studies have linked proper hydration —to improved weight loss. In fact, one study in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found drinking water (17 ounces) could increase fat-burning by 30 percent. Dehydration, on the other hand, slows calorie-burning. Make a summertime fetish of toting around a water bottle. Throw in a sliced lemon for good measure. Limonene, a compound found in the peel, is a great natural detoxifier, as it helps the liver to flush excess toxins from the system.

2. GET YOUR MEAT DRUNKThrowing back a bottle of beer — into a marinade — may eliminate harmful chemicals that form when grilling meat at high temperatures, researchers say. In fact, marinating meat with beer for four hours lowered the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by as much as 68 percent in a recent study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. PAHs are known carcinogens and classified “endocrine disruptors” that have been linked to obesity. Interestingly, the darker beers were the most powerful, but even a non-alcoholic variety reduced chemical formation by 25 percent. Previous research showed a red wine marinade to have a similar effect. Researchers say the antioxidant-rich marinades act like a barrier between the meat and cancer-causing compounds. Cheers!

3. REACH FOR THAT SPICY CURRYFilling up on spicy food when you’re already sweating may sound counter-intuitive, but scientists present a solid case for how culinary heat can help us beat the heat — and the bulge. They call it “gustatory facial sweating.” It’s a phenomenon that suggests spicy foods trigger special nerve receptors in our mouths and thermo-sensors in our stomachs that cause us to sweat — the body’s way of releasing heat via evaporative cooling. You’ll get the same heat-up-cool-down effect from a hot cup of tea, but spicy summer foods have the added benefit of being rich in capsaicin, a fat-burning compound found in chili peppers.